Age Proof Your Brain with Tony Buzan

Peter Russell, author of the Brain Book and long time collaborator with Tony Buzan, has created a cool Life Expectancy Calculator.  http://www.peterrussell.com/Odds/VirtualAge.php

My Biological age is 44 (though I prefer 40+gst)

The good news is that my virtual age is 31 and my life expectancy is 88 (I'm halfway there).

 The calculator gives you real clues on what impacts on life expectancy and how to Age-proof your brain and body.

“Stimulating, Awakening, Informative, Exciting” - Alfred Looman

“Inspiring and “catalytic”” - Vishakh Pardikar

These are just a few of the glowing comments received during the first Age Proof Your Brain seminar in Sydney on 15 Feb 08. The seminar was held at the beautiful American Club, overlooking Sydney Harbour and the Opera House. Jennifer Goddard set the scene by reviewing some of the information on the looming crisis of an Ageing Workforce, giving a real context for the day. Tony Buzan then took over and inspired the group with a series of reflective discussions and activities that demonstrated how and why the ageing crisis is being perpetuated with misinformation on the brain and learning.

He then gave us fantastic insights into how we can all continue to unleash our genius throughout our lives. He spoke about being 'Renegades from the North' in thinking and 'playing the concerto of your life' with multiple intelligences, that gave us all great hope for long, healthy and mentally stimulated lives. Thanks Tony.

Here are a few more comments from people that attended.

“Excellent! Glad I
attended!” - Peter Torning

“Enjoyable, Informative” - Peter Wallman

“Well Paced, nice atmosphere, Revitalising “ - Robyn Jay

In the lead up to next month's Australian Tour, Leo D’Angelo Fisher caught up with Tony Buzan.

What is a Mind Map?
A Mind Map® is a graphic thinking tool that mirrors the way the brain thinks. Mind Maps use the full range of cortical skills and can be applied to all aspects of thinking including memory, creativity, learning and general control of the cognitive processes.

You believe it’s important to understand how the human brain works. Why?
Far more important than managing knowledge is managing the manager of knowledge: the Human Brain. In this new age of the intelligence worker, the knowledge of the brain and its functions and how to apply them to personal, family and professional life, is going to be the [biggest] competitive advantage.

Explain the concept behind your new book, Age-Proof Your Brain.
It used to be thought that as the brain became older, all its mental skills declined. We now know the opposite is true: with appropriate training and conditioning, the brain gets better as it gets older. There is a growing, massive pool of workers with vast intelligence banks who will cost companies little and make them a fortune.

How does ‘age-proofing’ the brain deliver benefits?

It’s a New Year once again, and people all over the world are making resolutions on what they are going to do differently in the coming year.  Of course often just a few days into the year, many of these have been abandoned or modified, and some people swear they will give up making resolutions because they just can’t keep them.  So we were wondering what you think of this ritual and what, if anything, you have resolved to do differently in 2008.

Get fit, lose weight, stop smoking, travel more, be a nicer person, make that career change, get along better with the out-laws, drink less, write that book – we’ve all seen the list and made many of these ourselves.  Many resolutions are about the very things that help Age Proof Your Brain, but does making a New Year’s Resolution have any real impact?  We’d love hear what you think, and in our next e-letter we’ll take some of the best entries and share them around.

One thing we do know is that keeping any commitment to change often depends on how you phrase it. For instance if you keep repeating “I’m not going to smoke, I’m not going to smoke”, what your brain hears is ‘I’m going to smoke’ and stopping is almost impossible.  If on the other hand you say “I’m in the process of developing healthy lungs” you have a better chance of success.

Elderly brains are slower but sharper, say researchers
By JONATHAN LEAKE The Sunday Times
Mon. Jan 7 - 5:39 AM

New findings seem to contradict one of the most widely accepted assumptions about aging: that the human brain is at its most powerful between the ages of 18 and 26.  Scientists have discovered that intelligence, instead of peaking in our youth, remains stable and, in some respects, gets sharper as we grow older.

The researchers found that verbal skills continued to increase for at least two decades beyond the age of 20, while arithmetic ability remained constant. Their work suggests that many of the assumptions made by employers, policymakers and educational institutions about aging need to be re-thought.

"Verbal ability appears to keep increasing over time," said Lars Larsen, a psychologist at the University of Aarhus, Denmark, who led the research. In the study Larsen obtained the records of 4,300 American ex-servicemen who had been given a battery of intelligence tests when they joined the military at the age of about 20.  The same servicemen were tested again two decades later. Larsen’s research involved carrying out a meticulous comparison of the two sets of data.

Turning Silver into Gold: Opportunities in Asia

Just as recognised and addresses by Tony Buzan and Buzan Centre:Aust/NZ in our upcoming Age Proof Your Brain seminars, the issues of the ageing population provide both significant challenges and great opportunities.  In January, you may want to make time to have a look at just some of the many opportunities.   The Silver Industry Conference & Exhibition (SICEX) 2008 is aimed at stimulating business interests to harness the economic opportunities of an ageing Asia.

As a precursor to the upcoming conference featuring Tony Buzan, Buzan Centre:Aust/NZ founders Jennifer Goddard and Bill Jarrard, recently designed and delivered a specially tailored presentation for CPA Congresses around Australia. And they have been a Smash Hit.

The Melbourne Congress initially scheduled one of the 3-hour sessions, but it sold out in a few days, so a second was added, and again sold out, so a third was done – again with a full house. In Canberra, the session’s group capacity was increased twice until all 125 seats were gone, and because of the demand a second session is scheduled for late November. In Brisbane about 150 packed into the session, at their Congress.

Most of the sessions were delivered by Australia’s Memory Maven, Buzan Centre Master Trainer Jennifer Goddard, while the first Canberra workshop was delivered by Buzan Centre co-founder Bill Jarrard. The presentation is based in part on Tony Buzan’s book Age Proof Your Brain, but also featured some discussion around Alzheimer’s Australia Mind Your Mind program, and the challenge of the ageing workforce. The aim was to get people started on their 7-Day Get Sharp Plan.

Feedback was great from a wide range of participants, and if you attended any of these sessions, we would love to get your comments – please post them to this blog. Thanks

In his practical and readable book Head First, Tony Buzan introduces us to the 10 Intelligences that when developed allow you to ‘play the symphony of your life’. Buzan likens the development of standard IQ elements, or even single focus intelligences such as emotional intelligence, to playing the piano with just 2 or 4 fingers. Okay for ‘Chopsticks’ but hardly the inspiration of a grand symphony.

As long ago as 2004 Human Resources magazine was saying:

HR managers and recruitment firms need to overcome prejudices around hiring older workers and employ staff based on their abilities rather than age, Federal Employment and Workplace Relations Minister Kevin Andrews recently said.

CEO of the Recruitment & Consulting Services Association (RCSA) and Adage Top 20 judge, Julie Mills, said “The opportunity exists for recruiters to take the lead by focussing on how they can best service the needs of clients facing the challenges of an ageing workforce. Being able to understand and effectively communicate the value proposition of a balanced workforce is an important step the industry needs to take”. … Adage Top 20 Media Release

The ageing of the workforce is the greatest challenge to face Australian employers this decade. It is also firmly on the corporate agenda with organisations looking for ways to tackle ageing workforce challenges. From the over 40s job board Adage.com.au

In May 2007 Adage released the Adage Top 20 – a list of organisations showing age management excellence. In its media release it said…